7 tips on how to create a happy, productive office space

Ah, the office. Some days, everything is golden, and it’s a well-run, efficient place. Other days it’s closer to chaos! Truth is, having an office that's the best it can be, can make all the difference to the prosperity of your business, so why leave it to chance?

By taking the necessary steps to make sure your office is a place where you and your employees can work to their maximum capability, you can ensure your business is as profitable as possible.

1. Review the layout

Most offices have more or less the same layout, but there’s no obvious reason why it should be like that. There is no one size fits all solution for office space; it’s about finding what works best for your company, and your company alone. If your business is dependent on people bringing their creative ideas to the company, then see what you can do to facilitate this with your office space. Sometimes it’s just a good idea to change where people work: mixing it up can be all a person needs to feel inspired again.

2. Go digital

If you’re still dependent on rogue pieces of paper for your business, then it’s time to start making the shift toward becoming a paperless company. Going digital makes it easier for your workers to communicate and collaborate with one another, improve your customer service, and cut down on company wastage. It’s easier than you think to get paper out of your company’s life, and you’ll also be doing your bit to help the environment at the same time. Make the switch today: you won’t regret it!

3. Tidy up your space

There’s a fine line between an office that looks like it’s productive and a messy one. If your office space is disorganised or dirty, then it’s not possible for your employees to work to the best of their ability: a productive mind needs calm, tidy surroundings. It also won’t send the best message to your customers, either. If your office is looking a bit worse for wear, get advice on hiring a commercial cleaner and get your office back to its sparkling best. You can also promote organised practices within your workforce, so that your office can be tidy, clean, and productive all at the same time.

4. Stay on top of the chaos

There are many factors to take care of when you’re in charge of running an office, and in this regard, having a system of organisation can make the world of difference. If you’re not keeping on top of everything, then they’ll slowly begin to stack up – and once you’ve got a stack of odd jobs to take care of, it makes it all the more difficult to take care of your core duties. At the end of each day, have a little review of any extra issues that arose during the working hours. They might just take a few seconds to handle, and then they’ll be dealt with.

5. Make friends

Your workers shouldn’t just be colleagues: they should be friends. But they probably won’t become friends without a little bit of help. You want your office to be a place where your workers like to be, so make sure you’re throwing in some fun activities for everyone every now and again. Allow your workers to chat with each other during set times of the day, and have after work drinks every Friday. Employees who enjoy being at work are much more productive than those who can’t wait to leave!

6. Be flexibility

And talking of your employees, have you considered making your office hours flexible? Not everybody functions best at the same time as everybody else. What if instead of making all workers come in at the same time each day, you allow a degree of flexibility? One employee might do their best thinking in the late afternoon, so they’d be best working 11 – 7 rather than 9 -5, wouldn’t they? Employees also really value having more control over their life, further boosting their happiness (and productivity) levels! And remember: sometimes you can boost your office by…not having your employees there, so take a look at letting certain employees work from home every now and again.

7. Don’t fight the small things

Ultimately, there are too many factors to take care of in an office. The key is to ready yourself to take care of the important details, and then let the less important ones go. So long as your office is professional, happy, and productive, then a lot of the other details won’t matter!